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Filial Piety and Chastity in Nguyen Du's the Tale of Kieu

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Filial Piety and Chastity in Nguyen Du's the Tale of Kieu This study explores how issues of filial FILIAL PIETY AND piety and chastity are portrayed and CHASTITY IN NGUYEN discussed in the early 19 th century DU’S THE TALE OF KIEU Vietnamese masterpiece, The Tale of Kieu , by Nguyen Du. This long narrative poem recounts the plight of Kieu, a beautiful and 1 talented young girl who has to prostitute Montira Rato herself in order to save her father from a corrupt mandarin. The story highlights the conflict between the Confucian concepts Abstract of filial piety and female chastity, personal obligations and personal morality. The th The early 19 century Vietnamese Vietnamese who collaborated with the masterpiece, The Tale of Kieu by Nguyen French in the early 20 th century saw Du, is a story that famously highlights the themselves as torn by a similar conflict conflict between the Confucian concepts of and claimed that, like Kieu, they had to filial piety and female chastity, and prostitute themselves for the sake. The between personal obligations and Tale of Kieu reflects the tension in the 19 th personal morality. This paper explores century Vietnamese society caused by the how issues of love and sexual austere Confucian views of love, relationships, as portrayed in the Tale of relationships and sexuality. It is hoped that Kieu, influenced the thinking of the paper will contribute to an th Vietnamese intellectuals in the early 20 understanding of how closely the topics of century. Drawing on parallels to Kieu’s female chastity, Confucianism and plight, it is argued that the Vietnamese, nationalist movements were connected. who collaborated with the French, often made sense of their actions in terms of The discussion and textual analysis is sexual submission and sacrifice as well as mainly based on the English translation by being compelled to prostitute themselves Le Xuan Thuy (1999) unless otherwise for the sake of a higher obligation - in indicated. The study is divided into three their case to the nation. The portrayal of main parts. Firstly, it will provide female sexuality and morality in Nguyen information on the authorial background Du’s story continued to be discussed by and the socio-political context of The Tale th Vietnamese intellectuals well into the 20 of Kieu . Then, it will explore the ideas of century. This paper charts the course of love, filial duty and sexuality expressed in this debate and the wider discussions the story. In the final part, the discussion relating to sexuality and literature up until will be extended to the debates on The the 1945 August Revolution with the aim Tale of Kieu that dominated the academic of showing how closely female chastity, and literary sphere in the early 20 th Confucianism, and nationalism, came to century. be interlinked. Nguyen Du and The Tale of Kieu 1 Nguyen Du (1765-1820) was born in the Lecturer in Vietnamese language and village of Tien Dien, in the province of Ha literature, Department of Eastern Languages, Tinh. His father was a high-ranking Faculty of Arts, Chulalongkorn University Downloaded from Brill.com10/02/2021 03:11:36AM via free access Filial Piety and Chastity in Nguyen Du’s The Tale of Kieu official in the Le Dynasty (1428-1788). He serve the new regime and returned to his was the seventh child of the family. Like home village instead. His career as several of his kin Nguyen Du served as a mandarin was resumed when the Nguyen scholar and mandarin at Court. At the age dynasty was established. Under the reign of 17 he passed the official mandarinate of Gia Long, he served as a provincial examination and his career as a state administrator, though a number of official might have been brighter if the historians have speculated that he accepted civil war between the Trinh and the the post reluctantly. In 1813, he went to Nguyen, two influential feudal families, China as a diplomat. It is believed that The had not taken place. Tale of Kieu was written during that diplomatic mission (Nguyen Loc 1999: The country had been divided into two 297 – 333). parts since the early 17 th century. The North was controlled by the Trinh while The Tale of Kieu (also known as Kim Van the South was under the Nguyen. While Kieu, the names of the protagonists) is both families claimed that they recognized based on a Chinese prose fiction that was the Le Dynasty as the legitimate authority, written in the 16 th or early 17 th century. they still fought against each other. Nguyen Du rewrote this short novel into However, after the long period of civil 1,627 couplets, that is a 3,254-line poem, war, a local revolt, led by three brothers in the folk metre known as luc bat or ‘six- from the village of Tay Son, a province of eight’ verse. The author borrowed the plot Binh Dinh, was raised against the two from a Chinese prose narrative but adapted families. The Tay Son rebellion was the details, characters and atmosphere of widely supported by downtrodden the story into a Vietnamese context peasants and small merchants. In 1776, (Duong Quang Ham 1942: 104). It tells Saigon fell and Nguyen Anh fled the the story of Vuong Thuy Kieu, a beautiful country and sought assistance in Siam. and talented girl, who was born into a After that, the Tay Son defeated the Trinh middle-class family. When her father, Mr. in 1786. They then captured Hanoi (at that Vuong, a merchant who is described as time known as Thang Long). However, ‘neither rich nor poor’, is arrested on a with support from the French, Nguyen false charge, in order to rescue him she Anh defeated the Tay Son and in 1802 sells herself as a concubine and is later established the Nguyen Dynasty, under forced to become a prostitute. which the Vietnamese state became administratively unified for the first time. Because of the author’s literary talent and He became emperor Gia Long, and moved its moving content, the story was loved by the capital city from Hanoi to Hue (at that an audience from all walks of life. time known as Phu Xuan). However, Vietnamese Confucian scholars did not consider a story about a prostitute Nguyen Du grew up during the civil war to be as worthy as were the Chinese and his career endured a great many classics (Huynh Sanh Thong 1984: 99 – political vicissitudes. To show their 125). This contradiction between the loyalty to the Le Dynasty, Nguyen Du and popular reception and literary standards some members of his family fought can probably be explained by reference to against the Tay Son. When he realized that the Confucian concept of the role and the attempt was abortive, he refused to function of literature. Traditionally, the 67 Downloaded from Brill.com10/02/2021 03:11:36AM via free access MANUSYA: Journal of Humanities, Special Issue No.14, 2007 literature of learned scholars was written women should not tell the story of in Chinese and was dominated by the Thuy Van and Thuy Kieu . Confucian concept of van so di tai dao da , which literally means ‘literature carries (quoted in Dinh Gia Khanh 1998: 27) morality’. That is to say, the purpose of literature is to enhance morality (Dinh Gia In the 18 th century work ‘ Phan Tran’ , it is Khanh 1998: 25 – 26). As the majority of arranged that Phan Sinh, the main the Vietnamese population was illiterate, character in the story, will marry a girl only the ruling class and scholars were chosen by his parents, but he falls in love involved in literary activities and they with another girl. He is also obsessed with were mainly concerned with political his love and this affects his study. The stability and moral standards. As a result, plot is contrary to the Confucian idea of literature was almost completely excluded filial piety that a child must obey his or her from the vernacular world. Good literary parents even in marriage. As for Kieu, she works had to represent the social order and manages to meet her sweetheart, Kim morality as prescribed by the royal court. Trong, in private when her family is away and she agrees to be his wife without the However, from the late 18 th century, the approval of her parents. Such behaviour writers of Nom stories paid more attention was unthinkable in the Confucian period. to ordinary people. Nom stories are written The emperor Tu Duc pointed out that The in the demotic script, which is an Tale of Kieu was for entertainment and ideographic script used to transcribe the that one should not take the story seriously Vietnamese language, while Han or (ibid). Also, throughout the period of 15 Chinese was the official language. The years that she is separated from her family, oldest text written by Nom dates from the Kieu lives with three different men. 14 th century but the script itself might have Vietnamese scholars commented that been created earlier than that. Nom is neither of these stories was worth reading regarded as a reaction against the because Phan Sinh's and Kieu’s characters domination of Chinese culture and did not conform to the main concepts of civilisation. Literature in Nom was highly Confucianism. developed in the 17 th and 18 th centuries. Nguyen Du’s The Tale of Kieu followed The Tale of Kieu can be seen as a this literary trend. (Nguyen Loc 1999: challenge to Confucian morality. Nguyen 652) Du’s masterpiece is not only contrary to the Confucian teaching on female chastity, Filial Piety and Chastity in The but it also reacts against the strict concepts Tale of Kieu and secretiveness of Confucianism in favour of love and sexuality.
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